When I was in primary school, I had a big argument with a boy in my class. I can't remember what it was about, but I have never forgotten the 1 I learned that day.

    I was sure that I was right and he was wrong. 2, he strongly believed that I was wrong and he was right. The teacher decided to teach us a lesson. She 3 with a good idea. She brought both of us to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her grey desk and me on the other. In the middle of the desk was a large, round object. It was 4 for me to see that it was black.  She asked the boy what color the object was. "5," he answered in a loud voice.

    I couldn't 6 that the object was white, considering that it was certainly black! One more argument started between the boy and me, this time 7 the color of the object.

    The teacher told us to change our 8, and then she asked me what the color of the object was. I had to answer, "White." It was then that I knew what was wrong. It was an object with two 9 colored sides, and from his side it was white. Only from my side was it black.

    My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day: You must 10 in other person's position（位置） and look at the situation through their eyes in order to truly understand their ideas.

    For a full­time worker and a mother of three, it seems impossible to spend time 1, but Hope Cooper can make it.

    Cooper volunteers at Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) in Varina High School. Her work is to 2 applications(申请表格)to students with scholarships (奖学金) for college. Cooper says, "I usually run to the PTSA meetings right after work. After the meetings, I have to run home and cook dinner for my own children."

    3 of Cooper's children goes to Varina High School, but she says, "Volunteering isn't all about helping the people you know best, but it's about helping those who 4 you most." Cooper chooses to volunteer in Varina High School because she 5 some poor students can't afford the higher education. She says 6 she can't help out every student, helping out one student is rewarding (值得的). Cooper thinks volunteering not only makes a difference to the students but also 7 her thought of what is important in life. Cooper says volunteering may seem 8 to one but means so much to those who need it. She 9 everyone to take part in it. She plans to keep on volunteering in the future. "Volunteering gives me a 10 that I need. I'll ask my children to volunteer, too," she says.

    I'm Yu Fei. I come from No. 1 Junior High School in Ji'nan. It is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} beautiful. My friend Xiaoli is in this school Xiaoli is of medium {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. She has {#blank#}3{#/blank#} hair, a long face, a small mouth and big {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. She is thirteen. She is in Class Five, Grade Seven. She is a good student, and she is good at painting pictures. She hopes to be an {#blank#}5{#/blank#} when she grows up. She has two good {#blank#}6{#/blank#} in her school. They are Lucy and Lily. They are {#blank#}7{#/blank#}. They are twins. They are fourteen They have big noses and big eyes, and they are very {#blank#}8{#/blank#} and thin. Lucy, Lily and Xiaoli are in the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} class. Mrs. Smith is {#blank#}10{#/blank#} English teacher. She is friendly to them and often helps them.

Last night，John went to a welcome party for foreign students. In the {#blank#}1{#/blank#}something funny happened. He met a Japanese boy {#blank#}2{#/blank#}was called Sato. He didn't know {#blank#}3{#/blank#}the Japanese are supposed to greet each other. As soon as he held out his hand, the boy {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. He just stood there, embarrassed, with his hand out. But finally he {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the bow.

Last weekend, Katie met her French friend Marie for the first time. She did the {#blank#}6{#/blank#}as John did, holding out her hand. To her great surprise, Marie kissed her on {#blank#}7{#/blank#} sides of her face. She also felt embarrassed. Later she came to know that {#blank#}8{#/blank#}people are supposed to kiss when they meet each other.

Li Hua went to the Capital International Airport to meet Tony Garcia from Colombia and Julia Smith {#blank#}9{#/blank#} Britain. After Li met them and introduced {#blank#}10{#/blank#}to each other，Tony went {#blank#}11{#/blank#}to Julia, touched her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek. She stepped{#blank#}12{#/blank#} appearing surprised and put up her hands, as if in defense(防卫)!

These actions are not good {#blank#}13{#/blank#}bad, but they are simply ways that cultures have developed. Studying international customs can certainly help avoid difficulties in today's world of cultural crossroads!

Hundreds of years ago, a Norse (挪威的) army came from the north of Europe and stepped onto the land of Scotland. The Scots, a brave people, loved their country very much. They fought hard to keep the Norsemen out of Scotland, but there were too many of them. It looked as if the Norsemen would win.

One night, the leader of Scots took his soldiers to the top of a hill." We will rest here tonight, my men," he said." Tomorrow we will have another fight. We must win or we will die."

They were all very tired, so they ate their dinner quickly and fell asleep. There were four soldiers on duty, watching out for any danger at night. But they were also very tired. One by one, they fell asleep as well.

The Norsemen were not asleep. Very soon, they came together at the foot of the hill. In order to walk quietly, the Norsemen took off their shoes. Slowly they climbed up the hillside without making any sound. Closer and closer, they moved towards the sleeping Scots. They were almost there. A few minutes more, the war would be over.

Suddenly, one of the Norse soldiers put his foot on a thistle(蓟) and got hurt. He cried out and his sudden cry woke up all the Scots. In a moment, they were on their feet and ready to fight. The fighting was hard but it did not last long. The Scots drove the Norsemen away and saved their country.

From then on, the thistle has become popular in Scotland. Although it is not beautiful and has sharp needles all over it, Scottish people still make it their national flower.

Xie Fei grew up in America and now he lives in Hainan, China. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Xie loves collecting (收集) sports things. He started collecting things from NBA stars in high' school in California. And in his college (大学) years in Beijing, he started collecting Chinese sports things. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}"At that time, I had many sports collections, and I wanted to show them at the hotel, " said Xie. To his surprise, visitors liked seeing them, so he decided to build a museum. 

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} He then had things like sports shirts from China's women's volleyball team and the torch (火炬) of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. "These collections are important in teaching people about the history of sports in China," said Xie. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}But he still kept them in his museum for everyone to see for free. 

These years, Xie often takes his collections to schools to teach children about the history of sports in China. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

"Museums are a good place for people to learn," said Xie. "I hope young students will learn from these sports collections and the stories behind them in my museum."